Maternity Pay Calculator UK 2026: How Much You Will Get

A maternity pay calculator UK search usually starts with one very practical worry: how much money will actually land in your account while you are off with your baby. It is a fair question, and the official guidance rarely answers it in plain English. Maternity pay in the UK is not one flat number. It changes across the 39 weeks you are paid, it depends on what you earned before you got pregnant, and it can be topped up (or not) by your employer’s own scheme. Below you will find the 2026/27 rates, the eligibility rules explained without jargon, worked examples at different salaries, and the traps that catch people out.

Maternity pay calculator UK 2026: Statutory Maternity Pay is paid for up to 39 weeks. The first 6 weeks are 90% of your average weekly earnings with no cap. The remaining 33 weeks are paid at whichever is lower, £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, from 6 April 2026.

Maternity Pay Rates for 2026/27

The government uprates statutory family payments every April. From 6 April 2026 the standard weekly rate for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is £194.32, up from £187.18 in 2025/26. That is a rise of £7.14 a week, or roughly 3.8%.

The same £194.32 figure applies to Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay (after its own first 6 weeks) and Shared Parental Pay. The Lower Earnings Limit, which is the minimum you must earn on average to qualify, sits at £129 a week.

Note the shape of it. Maternity pay is front loaded. Your first six weeks are usually your best six weeks, and the money then drops sharply. Planning your household budget around the average, rather than around week one, is the single most useful thing you can do.

How the Maternity Pay Calculation Actually Works

Any maternity pay calculator, ours included, is doing the same four steps behind the scenes. Once you have seen them, you can sanity check any figure a payroll department gives you.

1. Find your expected week of childbirth (EWC). This is the Sunday to Saturday week in which your baby is due, taken from your MATB1 certificate.
2. Count back 15 weeks to find your qualifying week. Everything else keys off this date. Your service and your earnings are both tested against it.
3. Work out your average weekly earnings (AWE). Your employer takes your gross pay across the 8 week period ending with the last payday before the end of the qualifying week and averages it. Overtime, bonuses and commission paid in that window all count.
4. Apply the two rates. Six weeks at 90% of AWE, then 33 weeks at the lower of £194.32 or 90% of AWE.

The AWE step is where the real money is decided. Because it is based on an 8 week snapshot rather than your annual salary, timing matters. If a pay rise, a bonus or a heavy run of overtime falls inside that window, your first six weeks of maternity pay go up with it.

The reverse is also true. A period of unpaid leave or reduced sick pay inside that reference window can drag the average down. If your circumstances in those 8 weeks were unusual, ask your payroll team to talk you through their calculation before you accept it.

Who Qualifies for Statutory Maternity Pay

To get SMP you must meet all of the following. This is the point where a lot of people fall out of the system, so read it carefully rather than assuming.

• Continuous employment. You must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks running into the qualifying week, which is 15 weeks before your baby is due. Sickness, holiday and other statutory leave do not break continuity.
• Earnings. Your average weekly earnings must be at least £129 across the 8 week reference period.
• Notice. You must give your employer at least 28 days’ notice of when you want SMP to start, or as soon as is reasonably practicable.
• Proof of pregnancy. You need to hand in your MATB1 certificate, which your GP or midwife issues from around week 20.
• Still pregnant, or the baby born. You must still be pregnant at the 11th week before the EWC, or have already given birth.

Maternity leave and maternity pay are separate entitlements and it is easy to confuse them. Statutory maternity leave of up to 52 weeks (26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave plus 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave) is a day one right for employees. There is no service requirement at all. Pay is the part that has the 26 week test.

So it is entirely possible to be entitled to a year off but not to a penny of SMP from your employer, for example if you joined recently. In that situation your employer should give you form SMP1 explaining the refusal, which you then use to claim Maternity Allowance instead.

Worked Examples by Salary

These figures assume a steady salary with no bonuses or overtime in the reference period, and they show gross maternity pay before tax and other deductions. Weekly average is simply annual salary divided by 52.

Two things jump out. First, the gap between a £20,000 earner and a £50,000 earner over the full 39 weeks is only about £3,100, because everyone lands on the same flat rate from week 7. Second, the drop at week 7 is brutal for higher earners. Someone on £50,000 goes from roughly £865 a week to £194 a week overnight.

Worked scenario: Priya, on £30,000

Priya earns £30,000 and has been with her employer for four years. Her average weekly earnings work out at £576.92, so her first 6 weeks pay £519.23 a week, a total of £3,115.

From week 7 she moves to the flat rate of £194.32 a week for 33 weeks, which is £6,413. Her gross SMP across 39 weeks is therefore £9,528, and she can take a further 13 weeks of unpaid leave if she wants the full year.

If Priya had received a £1,500 bonus during her 8 week reference period, her AWE would have risen by roughly £187 a week, adding around £1,010 to her first six weeks alone. Bonus timing is not something most people control, but it is worth knowing about.

The threshold where the flat rate stops applying

If 90% of your average weekly earnings is less than £194.32, you receive the 90% figure for all 39 weeks rather than the flat rate. That crossover point is average weekly earnings of about £215.91, which is roughly £11,230 a year. Below that, your whole 39 weeks are paid at 90%.

Maternity Allowance If You Do Not Qualify for SMP

Maternity Allowance is the safety net paid by the Department for Work and Pensions rather than your employer. It is the main route for self employed parents, agency workers with broken service, people who changed jobs recently, and anyone whose employer issues an SMP1.

The standard rate is the lower of £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, paid for up to 39 weeks. To qualify you must have worked for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before your expected week of childbirth, and earned £30 a week or more in any 13 of those weeks.

For self employed claimants there is an extra layer. If you have paid, or are treated as having paid, at least 13 weeks of Class 2 National Insurance contributions in that 66 week test period, you are treated as earning enough for the full £194.32. If you meet the work test but not the National Insurance test, you get the lower rate of £27 a week.

That gap between £194.32 and £27 is enormous, and it turns entirely on Class 2 contributions. If you are self employed and planning a family, checking your National Insurance record early is one of the highest value 20 minutes you will ever spend. Our guide to self employed tax in the UK covers how Class 2 and Class 4 contributions work.

You claim Maternity Allowance using form MA1, which you can submit from the 26th week of pregnancy. Payment can start from the 11th week before your baby is due.

Enhanced and Occupational Maternity Pay

Statutory rates are the floor, not the ceiling. Plenty of employers, particularly in the public sector, financial services and large professional firms, run an occupational or enhanced maternity scheme that pays considerably more in the early months.

The NHS Agenda for Change scheme is a well known example. For staff with at least 12 months’ continuous NHS service by the 11th week before the due date, it runs in four phases: 8 weeks at full pay, 18 weeks at half pay plus SMP (capped at full pay), 13 weeks at SMP only, then 13 weeks unpaid with the job protected.

Private sector schemes vary hugely. Some offer 3 months at full pay, some 6 months, some nothing above statutory. Almost all attach a clawback condition requiring you to return to work for a set period, often 3 to 6 months, or repay the enhanced element.

Checklist: what to find in your contract before you plan your budget

• Does your employer offer enhanced maternity pay, and what service do you need to qualify?
• How many weeks at full pay, half pay, and statutory only?
• Is the enhanced element repayable if you do not return, and for how long must you stay?
• Does your employer continue full pension contributions during unpaid leave?
• How is accrued holiday treated across the leave period?

If you cannot find the answers, your staff handbook and your written statement of terms are the places to look. Our explainer on UK employment contracts sets out what your employer must give you and when.

Tax, National Insurance and Pension While on Maternity Pay

SMP is treated as ordinary earnings. That means income tax, employee National Insurance, workplace pension contributions and student loan repayments are all deducted in the normal way through PAYE.

In practice, most people on statutory rates pay very little tax during the leave itself. If you are on £194.32 a week, that annualises to roughly £10,100, which sits below the £12,570 personal allowance. Many parents end up with an overpayment earlier in the tax year that unwinds later, or a refund after the tax year ends.

Watch your tax code carefully. A change in your pay pattern can trigger an incorrect code, and it is your responsibility to spot it. Our guides to UK tax codes and how to read a UK payslip walk through the codes and deductions line by line.

On pensions, your employer must keep paying its contributions at the level based on your normal salary for the whole period of paid maternity leave, even though your own contributions drop because they are based on what you actually receive. That is a genuinely valuable benefit and worth checking is happening.

Your Maternity Pay Timeline

1. Around week 20 of pregnancy. Your midwife or GP issues your MATB1 certificate.
2. By week 25 (the qualifying week). Your service and earnings are tested. Tell your employer you are pregnant and when you intend to start leave, no later than the end of the 15th week before your due date.
3. Week 26 onwards. If you are claiming Maternity Allowance rather than SMP, you can submit form MA1.
4. From week 29 (11 weeks before the due date). The earliest your maternity leave and pay can start.
5. Automatically, if you are off sick. Pregnancy related sickness in the last 4 weeks before your due date triggers maternity leave automatically.
6. Weeks 1 to 6 of leave. SMP at 90% of average weekly earnings.
7. Weeks 7 to 39 of leave. SMP at £194.32 or 90% of AWE, whichever is lower.
8. Weeks 40 to 52 of leave. Unpaid, unless your employer’s scheme says otherwise. Your job is still protected.
9. At least 8 weeks before returning early. Give notice if you want to come back before your full 52 weeks are up.

You can also use up to 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) days during your leave without losing any SMP. These are optional on both sides, and you should be paid for them, though how much is a matter for agreement with your employer.

What Changed in April 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 brought several family leave reforms into force on 6 April 2026, and they are worth knowing about even if you are focused on maternity pay specifically.

• Statutory paternity leave is now a day one right. The old 26 week qualifying period has gone.
• Unpaid parental leave is also a day one right. The previous one year service requirement has been removed. This is up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave for each child under 18.
• Paternity leave can now follow shared parental leave. Previously it had to be taken first.
• A new bereaved partner’s paternity leave gives up to 52 weeks of leave where a child’s primary carer dies within a year of the birth or adoption.
• Statutory Sick Pay is now payable from day one of absence, with the three day waiting period removed. That matters if you have pregnancy related sickness before your leave starts.

The rates themselves are unchanged in structure. The 90% then flat rate design of SMP has been in place for years and was not altered by the 2025 Act.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Assuming maternity leave and maternity pay have the same rules

They do not. Leave is a day one right for employees. Pay requires 26 weeks of continuous service by the qualifying week. Plenty of people who have just changed jobs discover this far too late, when the budget is already built around income that is not coming.

Budgeting on the first six weeks

The 90% period feels reassuring, then week 7 arrives and the money falls off a cliff. Work out your total across the whole 39 weeks, divide by 39, and budget on that average instead. For a £30,000 earner that is roughly £244 a week, not £519.

Ignoring the clawback clause in an enhanced scheme

Enhanced maternity pay almost always comes with a return to work condition. If you take the money and then resign, or move to a job you would rather have, you may owe several thousand pounds back. Read the clause before you accept an offer elsewhere, not after.

Not checking whether you should be on Maternity Allowance

If your employer refuses SMP, they must issue form SMP1. That form is not the end of the road, it is the start of your Maternity Allowance claim. Some parents receive an SMP1, assume they get nothing, and never claim the £194.32 a week they were entitled to all along.

Missing the Class 2 National Insurance test if you are self employed

The difference between the full £194.32 rate and the £27 lower rate is around £6,500 across 39 weeks, and it turns purely on whether you have 13 weeks of Class 2 contributions in the test period. Check your record with HMRC early enough to do something about a gap.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is maternity pay in the UK in 2026?

Statutory Maternity Pay is 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks with no cap, then the lower of £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings for the next 33 weeks. That is 39 weeks of pay in total. The £194.32 rate applies from 6 April 2026, up from £187.18 the previous year. The final 13 weeks of the 52 week leave entitlement are unpaid unless your employer offers an enhanced scheme.

Do I get maternity pay if I have just started a new job?

Probably not from your employer. SMP requires 26 weeks of continuous employment with that employer running into the qualifying week, which is 15 weeks before your due date. You will still be entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, because leave is a day one right. If your employer refuses SMP they must give you form SMP1, which you use to claim Maternity Allowance from the DWP instead.

Is Statutory Maternity Pay taxed?

Yes. SMP counts as normal earnings, so income tax, employee National Insurance, workplace pension contributions and student loan repayments are deducted through PAYE in the usual way. In practice many people pay little or no tax while on the flat rate, because £194.32 a week annualises to around £10,100, below the £12,570 personal allowance. Check your tax code, as pay pattern changes can trigger an incorrect one.

Can I get maternity pay if I am self employed?

Not SMP, but you may qualify for Maternity Allowance. You need to have worked at least 26 of the 66 weeks before your due date and earned £30 a week or more in any 13 of those weeks. If you have at least 13 weeks of Class 2 National Insurance contributions in that period you get the full £194.32 a week for 39 weeks. Without them, the rate drops to £27 a week.

What are Keeping in Touch days and do they affect my pay?

You can work up to 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) days during your maternity leave without losing any SMP or ending your leave. They are voluntary for both you and your employer, and neither side can insist. You should be paid for the work, though the rate is a matter for agreement. Working an 11th day does put your SMP for that week at risk, so keep count.

Does my employer have to keep paying into my pension?

During paid maternity leave, yes. Your employer must continue contributions based on the salary you would normally have received, not the reduced amount you are actually being paid. Your own contributions are calculated on what you actually receive, so they drop. During the final unpaid period, employer contributions generally stop unless your contract says otherwise. It is worth checking your payslips to confirm this is happening correctly.

Planning a return to work after maternity leave, or looking for something more flexible than the role you left? Building a skill or two during leave can widen your options considerably, and Coffee & Study’s finance and accounting courses are a practical place to start if you want something you can fit around a baby’s nap schedule. When you are ready to look, browse the latest UK job vacancies on UK Jobs Alert to see what is hiring in your area, including part time and flexible roles.